Who loves gingerbread? Me! I am sure there are many gingerbread fans out there. I know I really look forward to fall for the arrival of pumpkin everything. Then soon I tire of pumpkin and start to dream of gingerbread. I love it all, the foods, the soaps, even the decorations. I have gingerbread people all over my Christmas tree and candy covered gingerbread houses adorning the mantle and other counters. Another favorite of mine is cheesecake, so I though why not combine the two? The result was a delicious creamy gingerbread cheesecake that will be on our holiday menu going forward.
Ingredients
crust:
- 1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnaps
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
Filling:
- 3 (8 ounce) cream cheeses
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make the crust
First you must crush your gingersnaps until they are broken into very small pieces. Mix 1 1/2 cups of gingersnaps with 1/3 cup melted butter, and 1/3 cup sugar. Once well mixed press the mixture into a 9 inch spring form pan. Bake in the oven for about 7-10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.
To make Filling
Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and beat until they are incorporated. Add molasses, and vanilla extract, mix well. Add the ground ginger, salt, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and sugar. Mix well. Pour filling into the crust. Bake for 1 hour, then turn off the oven. No peeking, it needs to stay in there for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool completely. Then refrigerate it and enjoy it the next day. Cheesecake tastes the best a day or two after it is made, the flavors and texture are able to really come out.
An alternative method for baking would be to use a water bath. You would wrap the spring form pan in several layers of foil. Then set the pan in a larger casserole or baking dish with shallow water. This helps to keep the oven moist and lets the cheesecake cook at a slower rate. The risks of this method could include water logged cheesecake. I cook my cheesecake at a lower temperature to try and negate the need for the water bath. To date I have not used the bath and my cheesecakes always turn out well.
I sprinkled the top of my cheesecake with more gingersnap crumbs. I love the crunchy texture of the cookie crumble. You could also add whipped cream. Yummy!
Join us for Gingerbread Week!
All week long we are sharing recipes, crafts, holiday decor, and gift ideas with one BIG theme: GINGERBREAD! If Gingerbread makes you say MERRY CHRISTMAS, this is your week! Come kick-off your holidays with us all week long HERE.
